


I love you but I'm gonna puke

by catastrotaffy



Category: Fallout - Fandom
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 13:31:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14717021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catastrotaffy/pseuds/catastrotaffy
Summary: Everyone has been discussing what it would be like if Brian and RedEye got married (and it's wild) but little do they know that I already wrote how it would go down...and it's much fluffier and more tame than the crazy nonsense imagined by the degenerates I call friends.





	I love you but I'm gonna puke

**Author's Note:**

> They're in Diamond City because Brian is delivering some meat there (his job is selling/trading meat - often "strange meat") I guess RedEye just felt like tagging along!

 

A quarter of a bottle of vodka remained, sitting in the centre of the worn and scratched table of the dugout inn. In an effort not to start a fight and be thrown out or worse, thrown in jail which was apparently a real thing in Diamond City, Brian was trying to channel his drunkenness into anything other than violence. RedEye was making this goal fairly easy since his own response to alcohol was usually to become louder and more talkative. Already he had given up on using a glass, instead taking gulps of vodka directly from the bottle. 

A Russian barman he served them, which Brian thought was appropriate. He had been delighted with the fact that Ivan or Boris or whatever he was called was wearing an identical coat. Except his was a good fit.

Brian leaned forward to claim the bottle, his head spinning at the sudden movement. Once it was in his hands he brought it to his chest, cradling it as if it were a newborn baby. He could hear RedEye loudly chattering to someone, telling them an old war story of previous drunken times. Brian stroked his hand over the cool glass of his bottle. 

_ [[There was a bit of drunken smut here, it's gone now.]] _

They awoke, on the floor of their rented room when the sound of the inn coming to life broke the nighttime silence. Brian groaned pitifully; his head hurt and his mouth felt dry. His groan caused RedEye’s eyes to flick open.

“I feel like shit,” Brian moaned.

RedEye had a gift for somehow managing to avoid hangovers, and he looked irritatingly smug that morning. 

“Where are we?” Brian asked as he realised they weren’t at home.

“Diamond City.”

“Aw fuck are we in jail?”

“Nah I…” RedEye hesitated since he didn’t know for sure himself where they were. “This don’t look like jail.”

“And we’re on the floor…?” 

Brian left his question hanging as he weakly scrambled to his feet. With great difficulty he dragged himself onto the bed, his fingers clutching the blanket tightly.

“I’m gonna stay here and die,” Brian declared.

“Aw come on, don’t be a baby.”

Fluidly RedEye pushed himself to his feet. He stretched and scratched before rummaging through the pack containing their belongings. When he dropped onto the bed by Brian’s side, he reached over and placed a canteen of water beside Brian’s hand.

“Aw baby I didn’t know you cared,” Brian smirked. 

Feebly Brian sipped at the water. It helped his dry mouth but did little to quash the feeling of nausea that spread from his gut.

“I’m hungry,” RedEye announced.

“Then go eat. I’m staying here. There’s caps in my pockets. Bring me something back.”

Brian closed his eyes and wished that RedEye would go away so he could go back to sleep and hopefully wake up without a hangover. He felt the mattress shift behind him as RedEye got to his feet. After a few moments of shuffling and scuffing about the room, the door banged and Brian was left to himself.

\--

“Bri.”

Brian shuffled and drowsily opened his eyes - he must have fallen asleep, but he was pleased that his hangover had lessened.

“What?” 

“I need you to get up.”

Brian rolled his eyes to look at RedEye. The radio host crouched by the bedside so his head was level with Brian’s, his chin resting on his arms. He looked excited about something, which immediately made Brian suspicious.

“Why? Tell me you haven’t been causing trouble, I’m way too tired to fight anyone right now.”

“Come on. I wanna show you something.”

Despite himself Brian was curious so he pushed himself out of bed and followed after RedEye. Diamond City looked very different in the daylight, especially on such a bright and sunny day as they stepped outside of the Dugout Inn. Brian dragged his hands through his hair - the pleasant weather made him feel much better and he even found himself smiling at the sensation of warm sun on the back of his neck.

RedEye suddenly seemed in less of a rush, his stride casual as if he too was enjoying the warm weather. Brian quickened his pace to fall into step with him. They passed the noodle vendor in the centre of the market and Brian’s stomach growled - he was suddenly reminded that RedEye had not returned with any food.

He was about to suggest they stop and get some noodles when RedEye abruptly steered him away toward a small, ramshackle building at the foot of the stairs they had come down when they had arrived. It wasn’t surprising they had missed the building since it was unobtrusive and tucked away causing Brian to wonder what was so remarkable about it that RedEye had dragged him out of bed to come and see. But this was obviously the place he had been brought to since RedEye had stopped.

“What is this?” asked Brian.

“Remember when you were telling me about your life before the war?” RedEye began, his voice lowered in case anyone happened to be listening in. “And you said that you had been happy before everything got all fucked up. You and That Guy. You were saying how you were gonna get married but that never happened--”

Brian pressed closer, suddenly wary although he hung onto RedEye’s words. Had he perhaps unearthed something to do with Soren? It seemed unlikely but nevertheless Brian’s eyes flicked cautiously at the shack before returning to RedEye. 

“Yes…” Brian ventured carefully.

“So why don’t you marry me instead?”

“I…” Of all the things Brian could have expected to come out of RedEye’s mouth, this was not one of them. “You’re serious? Really?”

“Yeah, man, why else would I bring you to a church?” RedEye laughed lightly before suddenly looking worried. “That is how this works, yeah?” 

“Oh my god.” Brian bit his lip. “Yes...yeah. I mean that is how it works.” He laughed since his brain seemed to have suddenly lost its ability to react properly to anything. 

Hundreds of years ago he had meticulously planned out his proposal, had revelled in the shock and surprise. He had filmed it, although that footage was lost to the ages. He had worked the room afterwards, accepting drinks and congratulations from the family he was going to acquire but never did. He had thought back then that he had time to plan everything out, to organise guests and venues and cake but everything had been snatched by the push of a button and consumed by atomic fire. His life could have been so different, but here he was, being given a second chance and he was not about to let something take it away again.

Brian snatched RedEye’s hand. “Yes. Let’s do it.”

RedEye grinned. He pulled Brian along into the ramshackle chapel, where he had obviously been earlier in the day judging by the way the pastor nodded and smiled at him in recognition. 

“You’re back, I take it things went well?”

RedEye nodded happily. Brian was reminded strongly of an old-world Vegas wedding as he felt himself swept along. He had very little knowledge of a prewar wedding but he was almost a hundred percent sure that this was a very abridged version of one, and some of the terminology seemed wrong. He found that he didn’t mind too much; the pastor talked in vaguely familiar words and Brian felt suddenly flushed with happiness. Maybe he would have preferred to wear a suit or have his friends present but at the end of the day he was happiest in the comfort of his beloved coat, and not one of his friends mattered to him as much as the man by his side did.

He was being prompted by the pastor to repeat his words, line by line, in a way that was all too familiar. He guessed that if he memory served him correctly, this was the past of the wedding where they exchanged rings. Except they didn’t have rings. The thought made Brian sad since he would have very much liked to have a wearable symbol. His eyes were fixed on RedEye’s hands, which he held in his own.

“Brian.”

A sudden prompt and Brian snapped his head up to look at the pastor. In his wrinkled fingers he held out an offered ring which after a moment of hesitation, Brian accepted. That was all it took for him to lose his composure entirely. His lip wobbled and he drew in a shaky breath, blinking rapidly over and over. Through his watery eyes he could just about see well enough to slide the ring onto the correct finger of RedEye’s hand.

“Don’t you cry on me.”

“I’m sorry...I...I…” 

Brian felt himself pulled close, RedEye’s arms wrapped around him. He could feel one hand on his back, softly smoothing over him in a comforting way. Above his head he could hear RedEye repeating the words he himself had said moments earlier. The pastor’s tone sounded kind and understanding as if he was used to seeing people become emotional, but really what inkling could he possibly have? There was no way he could know that one of the men before him had been around longer than generations of his own family had. 

Gently, Brian was pushed away so his hands could be taken. He stared down, blinking hard as his ring was slid onto his finger, a shaky smile inched onto his face. His hands were not released, he was gently pulled closer until he felt lips upon his own. Fingers snaked around to the back of his neck to pull him in, nails gently scratching at the base of his hairline. 

The pastor cleared his throat. Brian lowered his head, breaking the kiss as his lips twisted into a guilty grin. Suddenly nothing seemed more important than getting out of the chapel, so he eagerly tugged on RedEye’s hand, keen to see if his new husband had any concept of what a honeymoon was.

\--

“I didn’t think old traditions like this still existed,” Brian smiled. He held up his hand to admire his ring, his face a picture of contentment.

“They don’t.”

That captured Brian’s attention and he turned to look RedEye in the face, his head tilted slightly in curiosity.

“Not outside of Diamond City anyway,” RedEye continued. “How many people you seen with wedding bands?”

Brian thought about it but eventually he was forced to admit that the answer was none. He had never seen a soul wearing a ring but he had never really thought too much about it.

“So what do they do instead?”

RedEye rolled onto his side so he was facing Brian. He took Brian’s hand in his own, lazily playing with it when he began speaking.

“All the gangs I’ve run with, y’know, raiders, they all had this tradition of branding. I guarantee you’ve seen a ton of brands but never thought nothing of it. Kind of like saying you own that person, and they own you. Same as a wedding band but you can’t take it off.”

“So are you saying that our rings won’t mean anything to anyone when we get back home?”

RedEye shrugged. “They mean something to us...and hurt less.”

Brian was not to be put off that easily. He tightened his grip around RedEye’s fingers, unhappy in the realisation that still no one would know the significance of the wedding bands.

“Can we do that too?”

“You want to have your skin burned off with a hot iron?”

“Yes. If that’s how things are then we should do it properly.”

\--

“You sure you wanna do this?”

Brian swallowed hard. His palms were covered in a sheen of sweat and his heart was racing. From the corner of his eye he could see the tool that would be used to burn into his flesh. He could hear the crackling of the flames that kept the metal hot.

As it turned out, the resident tattoo artist, Pins, who had so long ago given Brian his gold tooth also supplied branding tools: wire twisted into designs unique to each couple. Sometimes simply initials or bespoke symbols for those with more imagination. 

“I’m sure.”

RedEye nodded but his body language betrayed his own nerves; whether they were because he knew he would have to do the same procedure himself or because he didn’t want to hurt Brian. He picked the iron from the fire and Brian gingerly extended his hand, palm facing up. RedEye hesitated although the fingers of his free hand gripped around Brian’s fingers, squeezing them together and bending them back so the skin of his palm was taut and flat. When the iron was positioned just above the pad of his thumb Brian glanced up.

“I trust you.”

He felt the heat of the iron before it touched his skin. His instincts screamed at him to flinch and pull away but RedEye’s grip was too powerful and he knew he had to suffer the ritual. The pain hit him hard and sharp but that wasn’t the worst of it. Brian could smell his flesh burn, he could see the tendrils of smoke curl upward. His eyes were watering and he gritted his teeth, hissing through them. Despite the sudden pain, it passed swiftly as nerve ends were burned away. The whole thing was over very quickly and Brian was left with a permanent mark on his palm, surrounded by raised, pink skin. 

“You okay?” RedEye asked. 

He placed the iron back to the fire, his lips pressed against Brian’s forehead, against beads of sweat that had formed there. Brian took a deep steadying breath. He wiped away the tears and nodded. 

“It only hurts for a second, don’t worry.”

“I ain’t worried,” RedEye claimed.

Once they had switched places, Brian could see that had been a lie. RedEye looked very nervous but he rested his hand on his knee, his eyes looking everywhere but at the soon to be branded flesh.

Brian took hold of the iron. He knew what he had to do although he didn’t like the thought of hurting the man he loved.

“I just press it on and hold it for-”

“About five seconds. Come on. Let’s do this.”

Nervously Brian positioned the iron. Silently he and RedEye locked eyes and RedEye gave the briefest of nods, so Brian pressed down. The sizzle and the smell assaulted his senses instantly.

“Fuck!” RedEye yelled, his free hand clenched into a fist until the branding iron was lifted away.

With heavy breathing, RedEye looked up at Brian who tossed the iron aside and immediately wrapped his arms around RedEye’s shoulders, holding him tight. 

“Fuck. It smells so bad.” RedEye paused and retched. “I wanna go lie down, man. I never wanna do this again.”

“You don’t have to,” Brian smiled, “because you’re mine and I’m yours. Forever.”

“That’s great, and I love you...but I’m gonna puke.”

RedEye slumped forward, his forehead pressed against Brian’s stomach as he tried to stop himself from throwing up. Brian lightly patted his shoulders and waited for the scene to be over. While waiting he wondered if they ought to bandage up the fresh wounds; his own hand was beginning to throb and sting. 

“Come on, you. Let’s put a bandage on these,” Brian suggested. “Then you can lie down.”

RedEye made a non committal grunt but didn’t move so Brian began pulling him to his feet. 

“Brian. Leave me alone. I’m gonna puke.” 

RedEye sucked in a deep breath. Brian took a step away and watched him lower his head and heave. He left RedEye alone while he went to retrieve some gauze, although when out of the room he could hear him retch and cough. 

“You’re such a baby,” Brian muttered to himself with a light chuckle.

He returned while fastening the gauze around his own hand. 

“Come on. Bed.”

Weakly RedEye surrendered to Brian’s nagging and shuffled in the direction of his bedroom. He brushed past Brian, lurched down the hallway and flopped heavily onto their bed. 

Brian followed. He kneeled by the bedside, pulled RedEye’s branded hand out and began bandaging it. RedEye made an ordeal out of his treatment, flinching and whimpering as if he was being tortured.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a big bad raider?” Brian teased. 

“I am,” RedEye mumbled.

“Sure.” 

Brian patted RedEye’s bandaged hand and got to his feet. He padded around to his side of the bed and lay down, snuggling into RedEye’s back and draping an arm over him.

“I  _ am _ a big bad raider,” RedEye insisted.

“I know. That’s why I married you.”

 


End file.
